Cars, vans, trucks
Blood and biohazard cleanup in a vehicle
A car is a small, padded, sealed space. Fluid gets into the seat foam, the belt webbing, the carpet and the gaps around the console. A car wash or a detailer is not equipped for that, and their staff should not be asked to try.
Phone answered at every hour, weekends and holidays included
First, where is the vehicle
Still with the police. After a crime or a fatal crash the vehicle may be held as evidence. Ask the investigating officer when it will be released and where it is being kept. For Yonkers Police, the number for non-emergency business is 914-377-7900.
At a tow yard or body shop. Storage is often charged by the day. Tell the yard a cleanup company is coming and ask what hours they allow outside contractors in.
At home. Keep the doors and windows shut, park it away from where children play and do not drive it. Heat makes everything worse, so shade helps.
What can and cannot be saved
Usually cleaned
Glass, the dashboard, door cards, leather and vinyl, metal and hard plastic trim.
Often removed
Fabric seat covers, seat foam, carpet and its underlay, floor mats, sometimes a seat belt. The company takes these out; refitting new ones is a job for an upholstery shop or a dealer.
Sometimes not worth it
If fluid has reached the ventilation or soaked most of the interior, the insurer may decide the car is a loss. Get the cleanup company's view before you spend anything.
Paying for it
Call your auto insurer before work starts and ask whether the policy responds to this kind of damage, what the deductible is and what photos they want. Do not assume either way.
If the vehicle was the scene of a crime, the state victim compensation office expects insurance and other sources to be used first and then considers what is left. Who pays has the details.
Vehicle questions
Will the company come to the car?
Many do, to a driveway, a garage or a yard. Some prefer the vehicle brought to them on a flatbed. Ask, and say whether it can be driven.
It is a work van. Does that change anything?
Only that your employees should stay out of it until it is done, and that the business policy, not a personal one, is the one to call.
Can I sell or trade it in afterwards?
That is between you and the buyer. Keep the cleanup invoice; it shows what was done and by whom.
Once the police hand the home back, phone
The person who answers works for an independent cleanup firm active in and around Yonkers. Put any question to them. Whether to hire them is up to you.
Phone answered at every hour, weekends and holidays included
Calls can be recorded. How that works: privacy, and how this service is paid.